'Will to wage war': At Raisina Dialogue, Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi spells out key lesson from Op Sindoor

General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).

General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), on Sunday outlined the key lessons learnt from Operation Sindoor by the Indian Army and its major transformation, focus on integrating new technology and restructuring for future warfare.

On the successful execution of Operation Sindoor and what lessons has the Army drawn from the operation, At the Raisina Dialogue, General Dwivedi said, "This is the first time where India decided that we have to be very credible about it. Three things that are required for the deterrence is credibility, capability and will to wage war. And this is the first time where we actually executed all of it. This was our first lesson from Operation Sindoor."

"It is a new normal and this will now be a policy. In case there is a terror action, the policy will be retaliate on our own conditions," he said.

"Another lesson is that next time, something like this happens, we should be able to synergise more, not just with the tri-services, but also with the intelligence agencies, support agencies and logistic stakeholders," he added.

He also highlighted the adoption of Integrated Battle Groups, drone regiments (Shaktiman), and enhanced cyber/AI capabilities to counter modern, multi-domain threats.

On the need for continuous reforms in the Army, General Dwivedi said, "Firstly, we have to be very clear that all the tactical commanders have to become techno commanders. Technology has to be part of life. Secondly, platforms in isolation are no good. There have to system of systems. To keep with the synergy with what Viksit Bharat 2047 is being looked at. And for that we have identified what are the organisational and doctrinal changes are required and what is the equipment upgrade and equipment transformation required."

"Now, equipment transformation requires long time. It will not come with 5-7 years. More time is required. So what we did, we started changing the organisations. Under that, we started with integrated battle group, we started with 'Rudra', a combined arms brigade, 'Shaktiman', a drone regiment, Bhairav and light commando battalions, because existing organisations cannot adapt very fast to the changes, therefore we need new organisations," he added.

Raisina Dialogue 2026

The eleventh edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb on March 5.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also lauded the successful completion of Raisina Dialogue. In a post on X, he said, “A successful Raisina Dialogue 2026 concludes. In a turbulent world, India continues to foster conversations, promote optimism and be a voice of reason.”

Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Philip Green on Sunday hailed the Dialogue. In a post on X, he said, “On brand! It was a great Raisina Dialogue, orchestrated by the inimitable energy of Samir Saran. I wore the Raisina buttons he gave me, as a mark of my support.”